1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus mounted in an image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer or the like to deliver recorded sheets a after the recorded sheets are stacked and bound, an adhesive cartridge, and an image forming apparatus using the bookbinding apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
As bookbinding apparatuses for image forming apparatuses such as laser beam printers or the like, there are apparatuses in which the sheets are delivered after the recorded sheets are stacked in the prescribed number and bound upon fastened by staplers at an end of the sheet bundle.
With the above bookbinding apparatus in which bookbinding is made with staplers, however, there raise problems such that the sheets require some margin for stapling, that the book is not easily opened after bound, that the appearance is not beautiful because staples appear on the surface, and that the end of the bound sheets is turned up.
As a bookbinding apparatus to solve the above problems, there is a bookbinding apparatus in which an end face of the sheets is adhered, or bound with so-called paste. For adhesive used in the bookbinding apparatus using such a paste, hot melt type adhesive is generally used.
Such bookbinding apparatuses for bookbinding in use of hot melt type adhesive can be categorized into two major types.
The first type is to make bookbinding in application of adhesive to the end of a sheet bundle to be bound with a coating roller or the like after the adhesive is melt by heating an entire adhesive pan with a heater arranged at the apparatus where the adhesive is placed in the adhesive pan capable of storing adequate adhesive for adhering sheets.
The second type is to make bookbinding by melting adhesive with a heater after adhesive is coated in advance on a cover sheet of a folio and then the sheet bundle is sandwiched by the cover sheet.
However, with the first type bookbinding apparatus, there raises a problem that it is difficult to handle hot melt type adhesive and therefore maintenance of the apparatus becomes very bad. In addition, excessive electric power is required to melt the adhesive, and therefore, there raises a problem that the apparatus consumes too much electric power for mounted as a bookbinding apparatus as an option of a printer or the like.
With the second bookbinding apparatus, there is a problem that the book cover to be used has to be selected in accordance with the thickness of the sheet bundle to be bound, and that the book cover has to be prepared in accordance with the thickness of the sheet bundle expected to be bound. Setting of the book cover is not easy, and the second bookbinding apparatus, as an option of a printer or the like, has a problem in controllability, costs, and maintenance property.
This invention is made to solve the above problems and characterized in that, in a bookbinding apparatus stacking every prescribed number of sheets on which images are formed by an image forming apparatus and coating hot melt type adhesive on an end face of the stacked sheet bundle upon softening the adhesive by heating means, an adhesive sheet on which the hot melt type adhesive is coated is wound and formed into a roll shape to be contained in a container, which is detachably attached to a bookbinding apparatus body.
In another bookbinding apparatus stacking every prescribed number of sheets on which images are formed by an image forming apparatus and coating hot melt type adhesive on an end face of the stacked sheet bundle upon softening the adhesive by heating means, an adhesive sheet coated with the hot melt type adhesive, wound, and formed into a roll shape, and the heating means for heating and melting the sheet on which the adhesive is coated are contained in a single container, which is detachably attached to a bookbinding apparatus body.